Tag Archives: Best Man Holiday

There was a time when my wife used to remind me to be careful whenever I left the house; in fact she would tell me to fasten my seatbelt as she reminded me that I am her “special package”. As time marched on I heard it so much I eventually started taking it for granted. And so every once in a while I still needed to be reminded that I AM HER special package, and to buckle up for safety. These helpful reminders go a long way, and I’m thankful that my wife cares enough to care enough.

I have officially started to refocus my attention on the things that are important to me; like my life.

Tell me if this holds true for you. You start out the year with a great plan and an awesome direction. Somewhere along the way you veer slightly off course all with the intention of making it up somewhere down the road or the day after that. Pick an area, any area of life; be it finance, fitness, health & wellness, savings, personal development, the stories are all the same. As life happens, we seem to get distracted by all the stuff that life sends our way. Little by little, a sacrifice here a compromise there, and before long, where we are looks nothing at all like where we hoped we’d be.

Take my weight for instance:

We all know that a little snack here and there by itself is relatively harmless, but compounded over time with a lack of proper exercise and rest . . . yikes a total recipe for disaster. So here I stand at the end of December 2013, looking up to find myself tipping the scales at a whopping 268 pounds. Yeeesh, talk about making a series of slight edge decisions in the wrong direction – compounded over time, and yielding THIS result. No one to blame but myself.

That aside for now . . .

I’m watching a rebroadcast of a television interview on The View, with the cast of the movie The Best Man Holiday. Now on a personal note, I have a special place in my heart for this film because I was fortunate enough to work as the Key Set PA on The Best Man almost 15 years ago. A great experience complete with memories that I won’t soon forget.I’m watching this interview and out come the men. Taye, Harold, Morris and Terrence. And hanging in the background of the set, was a full poster sized picture of a shirtless Morris Chestnut. How can I compete?

As if I’m not self-conscious enough. Now I find myself staring at this picture (as there was plenty of time to do so during the screaming applause) and I realize that, that looks nothing like me. I’m watching this show while sitting back and polishing off a plateful of non-whole wheat spaghetti from last night, sprinkled with some bacon and layered with scrambled eggs cooked in bacon grease. I’m even soakin’ up the sauce with a couple of slices salt buttered toast . . . it’s no wonder that picture looks nothing like me. Something has to change, and it has to change now. Add to the mix, the fact that my wife . . .well lets just say, she’s yelled at ME before . . .for several reasons, on many occasions, but she has nary a bad word or thought in her mind when it comes to Morris Chestnut. In fact, beaming might best describe her response to him anytime he appears on the screen. Can’t say I blame her, he is a talented handsome brother. Hey wait, I’m talented, I’m handsome . . . I used to make my wife beam, what happened?

“ One more scoop of butter pecan or dulce de leche please”. “Just one more little dollop of whipped cream”. “Yep make that a super-sized will ya? . . oh and I’ll take the diet Coke”.

Sound familiar?

Oh, maybe it’s just me.

Gone are the days I say.

As Simon Phoenix said to John Spartan in Demolition Man, “ . . .time for something new and improved.”

It’s not too late to change:

Just sharing this with each of you starts me on the road to recovery, and that’s not all. I had a conversation with one of my business mentors who gave me some very useful nutrition tips. I’ve already started running again. And most importantly I have made the DECISION to change my habits, and change my life. I will be better and I have each of you to help keep me accountable.

As I make the journey this coming year to reach my target weight, I am reminded of a brief moment I had with Morris when I was accompanying him to a rehearsal or a fitting some years ago, and he was carrying a gallon of water in a plain clear jug and he shared with me that his trainer has him drinking a gallon of water a day. I thought to myself that seems extreme. This was back in ‘98/’99. He was making slight edge decisions in the RIGHT DIRECTION fifteen years ago, and his resuls speak for themselves.

I too was making slight edge decisions, regrettably in the WRONG DIRECTION and justifiably, those decisions speak for themselves as well. As you might guess, my results tell an entirely different story than his.

Perhaps this is the motivation I need to go out and get back into solid fighting form. Perhaps simply having the satisfaction of knowing that if he can do it, I can too, is enough to get me through the year. Perhaps knowing that my wife is still holding onto and showing love and support for her “special package” after all these years, is confirmation enough. Or Perhaps knowing that I have complete control over how that package comes home to her everyday; gift wrapped to perfection, is all the satisfaction that I need.